You may think, “Podcast is media.” Maybe you’ve considered advertising your new product on a podcast or getting on someone else’s podcast for publicity, but you’ve never thought of doing an original podcast for your brand.
Or perhaps you’ve jumped on the bandwagon of podcasting, but after the initial excitement, you start to lose sight of the value of this venture.
Whether you are a multinational corporation or a three-people startup, podcasting can be a powerful tool for your business development. Let’s dive into ways tech companies are using podcasts to grow their business.
Maintain company culture and employee engagement
Indonesia’s first Super App Gojek has a podcast. The Go Figure podcast is hosted by Gojek (ex) CEO & Founder Nadiem Makarim and features Gojek leadership team and investors. Podcast conversations cover macro issues within entrepreneurship, business, and society.
With Makarim taking the lead, each episode shares the growth journey of Gojek with a transparent and aspirational message. The success of Gojek lies in its “Challenger Culture.” Through the authentic conversations recorded in Go Figure podcast, Makarim is able to communicate and maintain the startup mindset of Gojek culture.
Foster Community
What do Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM have in common? They all provide cloud computing solutions and all have a podcast dedicated to that.
The podcasts serve as channels to communicate the latest updates and conference messages, keeping cloud users engaged with each company’s latest offerings.
In a rapidly advancing and collaborative space like cloud computing, keeping your community of users up-to-date and fostering communication is crucial. The big tech companies recognise that and leveraging the power of podcasts to build their communities.
Establish thought leadership
Maintaining a consistent podcast builds the authority of a brand. Andreessen Horowitz, a leader in the Silicon Valley VC space, differentiates their brand with their original a16z podcast and 16 minutes on-the-news podcast.
Also Read: Andreessen Horowitz’s lessons for Asian VCs and founders
The podcasts feature analysts from the firm and their ecosystem partners or thought leaders discussing tech and cultural trends, news, and the future. This helps in amplifying the brand voice and developing their unique perspective.
Recruit
Booking.com is not only interested in your next travel destination.
It is interested in Natural Language Processing, image recognition, and innovation. To help recruit talent in those areas, the company started Booking People podcast.
Recruitment is a difficult and costly task for every company, but podcasts can help to reduce that cost.
In the podcast, employees share the projects they are working on and work culture; senior leadership comments on macro-level issues and mindset they look for in talents.
Podcast conversations go deeper than job descriptions, giving job seekers a better idea of what it is like to work for the company.
Build an ecosystem and acquisition
If you are a new player in the industry, podcasting can help you get meetings and clients. Having your brand original podcast gives you the opportunity to invite industry experts, partners and clients to sit down for a meaningful conversation.
It also becomes the best opportunity to invite potential partners and clients for a chat. We see that with startups like Offerzen (South Africa based tech job marketplace) and AgThentic (Sydney based agtech consulting firm).
The podcasts cover topics relevant to their specific industries, featuring conversations with guest experts. Offerzen podcast has episodes with HR leaders at Microsoft and Google, significantly uplifting the credibility of their content and brand.
Create brand awareness
Most tech companies have good products but don’t tell good stories. If you don’t have a library of content and an editorial team, you can choose to sponsor bigger conversations in your industry.
Also Read: The podcast fever: why are listeners tuning in more frequently than ever?
For instance, Slack has a branded podcast “Work In Progress” that tackles work-related issues such as fulfillment, identity, and happiness. Each episode features stories of people who found meaning in their work.
Slack wants to showcase its company philosophy and culture, creating brand awareness through podcast stories. The end of each episode features a unique client success story, serving as native advertising for Slack.
Promote client success stories
Nothing sells your product or services better than authentic client success stories. Shopify recognises the power of giving a voice to its successful users, letting every one of them be an authentic brand ambassador.
Each week Shopify Masters podcast invites successful e-commerce entrepreneurs to share their experience and advice for growing an online business on Shopify.
The podcast experience gives successful merchants some limelight, promoting their store at the end of each episode. More importantly, it promotes an aspirational message that small business owners can find success through Shopify.
Podcasts shouldn’t be limited to media or PR. Instead of finding the right podcast to advertise your products, start your own brand original podcast to recruit, sell, influence, and engage. Start by identifying the talking points your brand wants to own: they could be macro-level issues or technical know-how. Gather your partners and clients to talk about these issues that you deeply care about. Leverage the voice of industry experts. There you have it: your brand original podcast featuring your unique brand voice.
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